Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
New Age of music?
- Thread starter Vidder
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
I like a lot of stuff and I don't necessarily think it has to contain strictly musical instruments in order for it to be considered "music." But...personally, I have to draw the line somewhere. I for one don't think very highly of artists who simply steal music from someone else, rap some autotuned-garbage over top of it, and call it theirs. I simply don't respect that.
:thumbsup:
/thread
Great post. I used to have a similar attitude to the OP back in high school when I was a huge jazz head and thought any other type of music was crap because it lacked the technical complexity of the artists I listened too. Unfortunately the OP hasn't yet learned that there's much more to music than playing instruments well. Jazz is still my favorite style of music, but I love electronic and hip hop music as well (well, the good stuff at least), and generally listen to the latter more frequently.
The OP reminds me of people who might have trashed impressionist artwork because it lacked the extreme detail and laborious technique of the Pre-Raphaelites. Anyone can roughly scatter paint around a canvas, right?
I don't know much about painting...but if thats your description on what that type of painting is...well then "Yes" i suppose anyone can do that...
Check your hats...
Dear All of you.
When you're sitting in front of your Ableton Live/Cubase/Reason (not so much Pro Tools, that's a bit different) you're NOT a button-pressing 'performing artist', you're a COMPOSER. The COMPUTER is the performer. And as far as redoing it to get it perfect goes - Mozart, as a COMPOSER, rewrote his stuff loads of times to get it perfect so the orchestra - the PERFORMERS - could play his ideas perfectly. That way the audience heard things the way they were supposed to sound.
So you had three different hats. Composer, Orchestra, Audience. Your problem, ALL of you, O.P. Included, is you don't know which hat you're wearing. When you spend a week tweaking 2 minutes of an 8-minute track you're being a COMPOSER. When it sounds right to you, the COMPUTER is the PERFORMER (hat 2) and you're the AUDIENCE (hat 3!) When it sounds right and you put it on a CD (yup, such things do still happen!) you've just become a 4th hat - Producer!
So does the fact you've gone back to it in MIDI a dozen times to polish it matter - nope - you're still COMPOSING it. Does it matter you're not the one doing the shredding on the guitar? Nope, for the same reason you probably get someone in to repair your car - you want an expert to get it right and the computer's about the best guitarist you're ever likely to find, it'll get your composition right first time every time. AND it won't go prima-donna on you and change things! And if you, as the audience, doesn't like what's being played, the guitarist will happily wait for you to change hats, become the composer and re-edit your composition so it can play it perfectly for you again. So what's been cut out of the system these days?
Rehearsals. No more weeks of rehearsing to get something right before you can play the composer's vision to the audience. No more arguments between composer/players as to how anything should be put over. You write it. It's played perfectly. If you want to put 'humanisation' (a.k.a. c**k-ups) in it, you're free to do so. They also will get played perfectly. Samples? Classical composers used to 'sample' eachother's music all the time, they'd lampoon eachother, write works that were satires of eachother's stuff, Hip-Hop does the same thing, it just takes itself too seriously.
The hats haven't changed. It's just thanks to technology we can all have a go at wearing all the different ones. Some of us will have more talent than others - but there were/are some pretty talentless composers out there (John Cage, at the risk of being howled at, and Harrison Birtwistle!) right now.
Don't snipe at us computer composers just because our bitmapped bands beat human fingers. We've realised the perfection humans have sought for centuries. Don't knock it. Or envy it. Just use it, along with the rest of us, to realise all the musical dreams you've ever had. Music is no longer owned by Labels. It is once more the possession of all. Technology is the ballroom that gives us all the freedom to dance.
Long may it stay that way.
ulrichburke.
Dear All of you.
When you're sitting in front of your Ableton Live/Cubase/Reason (not so much Pro Tools, that's a bit different) you're NOT a button-pressing 'performing artist', you're a COMPOSER. The COMPUTER is the performer. And as far as redoing it to get it perfect goes - Mozart, as a COMPOSER, rewrote his stuff loads of times to get it perfect so the orchestra - the PERFORMERS - could play his ideas perfectly. That way the audience heard things the way they were supposed to sound.
So you had three different hats. Composer, Orchestra, Audience. Your problem, ALL of you, O.P. Included, is you don't know which hat you're wearing. When you spend a week tweaking 2 minutes of an 8-minute track you're being a COMPOSER. When it sounds right to you, the COMPUTER is the PERFORMER (hat 2) and you're the AUDIENCE (hat 3!) When it sounds right and you put it on a CD (yup, such things do still happen!) you've just become a 4th hat - Producer!
So does the fact you've gone back to it in MIDI a dozen times to polish it matter - nope - you're still COMPOSING it. Does it matter you're not the one doing the shredding on the guitar? Nope, for the same reason you probably get someone in to repair your car - you want an expert to get it right and the computer's about the best guitarist you're ever likely to find, it'll get your composition right first time every time. AND it won't go prima-donna on you and change things! And if you, as the audience, doesn't like what's being played, the guitarist will happily wait for you to change hats, become the composer and re-edit your composition so it can play it perfectly for you again. So what's been cut out of the system these days?
Rehearsals. No more weeks of rehearsing to get something right before you can play the composer's vision to the audience. No more arguments between composer/players as to how anything should be put over. You write it. It's played perfectly. If you want to put 'humanisation' (a.k.a. c**k-ups) in it, you're free to do so. They also will get played perfectly. Samples? Classical composers used to 'sample' eachother's music all the time, they'd lampoon eachother, write works that were satires of eachother's stuff, Hip-Hop does the same thing, it just takes itself too seriously.
The hats haven't changed. It's just thanks to technology we can all have a go at wearing all the different ones. Some of us will have more talent than others - but there were/are some pretty talentless composers out there (John Cage, at the risk of being howled at, and Harrison Birtwistle!) right now.
Don't snipe at us computer composers just because our bitmapped bands beat human fingers. We've realised the perfection humans have sought for centuries. Don't knock it. Or envy it. Just use it, along with the rest of us, to realise all the musical dreams you've ever had. Music is no longer owned by Labels. It is once more the possession of all. Technology is the ballroom that gives us all the freedom to dance.
Long may it stay that way.
ulrichburke.
I disagree OP. Many new great acts are out there that play 'real' instruments. Just like them who don't, some have talent, some don't. And some are just there to scoop the money from your wallets and give it to Mickey Mouse.
Up to you who you listen to. The internet has made anything and everything more accessible, which means as consumers, we have to pick through the trash to find the gold.
Up to you who you listen to. The internet has made anything and everything more accessible, which means as consumers, we have to pick through the trash to find the gold.
Constantly risking absurdity...
Several hundred years ago the Church claimed that the human voice was the only "real" (God made) musical instrument and insisting that any other kind of musical instrument, that used strings or wind to make sound, was something designed by the Devil.
Several hundred years ago the Church claimed that the human voice was the only "real" (God made) musical instrument and insisting that any other kind of musical instrument, that used strings or wind to make sound, was something designed by the Devil.
1960's - The Beatles, The Doors, Hendrix
1970's - Queen, The Ramons, Pink Floyd, Ohio Players, Doobie Brothers, Sex Pistols
1980's - Michael Jackson, Def Leppard, Van Halen, Guns and Roses, Whitney Houston
1990's - Nirvana, Pearl Jam, Radio Head, Tool, NIN, The Smashing Pumpkins
2000's -Linkin Park, Gorillaz
2010's: FUN (LOL), Mumford and Sons (LOL), Lady Gaga (LOL), Dubsteb (LLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOL), Kings of Leon (LOL)
Yeah, it's all garbage for this decade. Like really bad. Especially for Rock/Modern Rock/Alternative. Of all the songs on my playlist from the 2010 - present all are hip hop, are from artists from previous decades. Not one recent rock song in sight because it's all Pretty horrible.
1970's - Queen, The Ramons, Pink Floyd, Ohio Players, Doobie Brothers, Sex Pistols
1980's - Michael Jackson, Def Leppard, Van Halen, Guns and Roses, Whitney Houston
1990's - Nirvana, Pearl Jam, Radio Head, Tool, NIN, The Smashing Pumpkins
2000's -Linkin Park, Gorillaz
2010's: FUN (LOL), Mumford and Sons (LOL), Lady Gaga (LOL), Dubsteb (LLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOL), Kings of Leon (LOL)
Yeah, it's all garbage for this decade. Like really bad. Especially for Rock/Modern Rock/Alternative. Of all the songs on my playlist from the 2010 - present all are hip hop, are from artists from previous decades. Not one recent rock song in sight because it's all Pretty horrible.